For third consequent day workers at Athens Metro will launch a 24-hour stirke on Saturday, Jan 19th 2013. Metro workers demand to be exempted from the new payroll common for all civil servants. As Transport and Development minister rejects their demands, the workers will stage a “First in Greece”: a strike on a weekend day!

KTG, see that is part of the problem. I remind everyone what President Reagan did in 1981, which was just fantastic. 13,000 air traffic controllers tried to do what almost everyone in Greece does. Strike without considering what it does to the country because of their own selfish interests.

Reagan ordered the strike illegal, and then gave them 48 hours to go back to work. Then 11,000 of them ignored the order, and he fired all 11,000 of them, and made it illegal to hire any of them back banning them from ever being hired again as an air traffic controller. It stands as one of the most significant positive things done to troublemakers in American history.

If only a Greek politician had the ability or the intestinal fortitude to stand up to these pirates who strike.

As a post addendum to my comment above, I must say that even in the USA, we have the right to strike, but within reasons. Certain professions, (i.e., Police, military, transportation entities like metro, bus etc, air traffic control) should never be allowed to strike as it hurts the country as a whole. What I often wonder though is if these companies in Greece or anywhere for that matter could require people who take the job to sign a waiver stating they are not allowed to strike or they will be fired, and that way at least they know this going into the job, so there is no confusion. So, those who do not wish to be employed or work under these conditions are free to work for companies where striking would be allowed?

No, I understand it but just don’t think that your having the right to strike should have more weight than my right to ride the Metro. Some professions (like the Metro, bus, etc) should never have the right to strike. Any job critical to infrastructure should be banned from striking but then again, in Greece they overreacted after the Junta by allowing everyone to strike and now we have chaos. I think the US has a much more balanced approach to striking.

Sure, you are right, Greece is not the USA. But don’t people in Greece also (like the USA) deserve the right not to be inconvenienced by selfish strikers who do whatever they please whenever they please? Even the shops begged them not to strike over the holidays and did they care? NO, all they care about is themselves.

Greeks deserve the right to go about their business unhindered by selfish strikers.

Why are strikers by definition “Selfish”? Are you saying that once somebody has been lucky enough to have been granted the gift of a few financial crumbs in return for “work” they are then totally and completely owned by the “employer” and should, from there on, shut up and do as told without discussion or argument?
Are you saying that they are not, under any circumstances, allowed to stand up and defend the possible benefits they may have from the job? There are indeed other, much more effective ways of executing a strike, but that is a different argument. You are demanding nothing short of the removal of the right to strike rather than looking at ways to make it more effective.
The nature of any disagreement which can’t be solved by negotiation and discussion is that it will always inconvenience somebody to some degree. The contention that strikers should not be allowed to inconvenience you (anybody else seems to be ok by the sound of things)is nothing short of the baby brother of the contention that another countries’ policies should not be allowed to inconvenience yours and if it does, let’s send in the troops. Same attitude, different scale…
The right to strike is an integral part of the right to work, and rather than dismantling the labour laws (which is what this is all about), it would be much more beneficial for everybody to make them more effective, including the way a strike is executed…